There was hope that the two middle-fielders would continue their efforts after India reached their 50th run on Day 2 of the second Test match against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. But with the exception of three thirties—one from each of Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yashasvi Jaiswal—the hosts had little to show for their 50/1, which quickly turned into 156 all-out. The throng struggled to comprehend the course of events that had taken place as the wave abruptly subsided to a small trickle.
Ian Smith, a former cricket player from New Zealand, went on a heated tirade when commentating after Sarfaraz Khan was softly removed.
He ranked India’s present performance even lower than that of the Chinnaswamy encounter, accusing them of failing to adjust to the circumstances and drawing comparisons to their Bengaluru collapse in the first innings of the first Test.
“Well, in my opinion, this is worse than 46 all-out. This is some bad shot selection and batting. I understood the first Test, but for some reason, India is focussing on the bowling rather than playing for time and batting. They believe they can easily destroy this bowling lineup from New Zealand. The Test match is just in its second day. Smith said on Sports18 that “there is plenty of time left, but the way India is playing, none of them will be here for very long.”
India losing six wickets in a session was not anticipated by anyone: Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble, a former cricket player for India, shared Smith’s opinion. Additionally, he stated that India’s strategy of playing cross-batted strokes was not what the Pune track required.
“You required some time on this type of surface. We did talk about how important it is to go through those 15 to 20 balls, and if you want to play straight, you can accomplish it. Although the track is turning and staying straight, no one anticipated that India would lose six wickets in this session, Kumble noted.
Also Read: Sanjay Manjrekar disapproves of Virat Kohli’s dismissal, ‘Played the worst shot of his career to get out’
In Test cricket, Mitchell Santner’s seven-for was his greatest bowling total in an innings. Additionally, he became just the fifth bowler to take five wickets in an Indian match.
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